The Manual for Implementation is a tool developed by the Standards Committee to provide interpretation advice on specific GOTS criteria and the related quality assurance system.

Manual for Implementation version 5.0

The Manual for the Implementation of the Global Organic Textile Standard provides interpretations and clarifications for specific criteria of the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) and related publications (e.g. the Licensing and Labelling Guide) approved by the Standards Committee. This Manual is intended to prevent any inconsistent, inappropriate or incorrect interpretation of the standard. It also contains requirements and detailed specifications for the application of the Standard and the implementation of the related quality assurance system for certifiers.

The Manual represents a flexible quality assurance tool of the Standards Committee to provide advice and clarification to the GOTS Approved Certifiers and users of GOTS and can be updated as needed without going through a formal standard revision procedure. The interpretations, corrections and further clarifications as provided in this document are binding for all approved GOTS certifiers and users of the GOTS.

The Implementation Manual version 5.0 was released alongside with Standard Version 5.0 on 1st March 2017 and is available for download in PDF format at this link: GOTS Implementation Manual V 5.0

Implementation Manuals are revised as and when additional guidance is necessary for all GOTS Entities, Certifiers and other Stakeholders. Typically, new versions of the Implementation Manuals are released along with new versions of the Standard.

Previous Versions of the Implementation Manuals are available for download at our download section. Translated versions of the Manual will also be progressively made available at this section. The English language version will remain decisive for any variations due to translation.